


Egg Hunt

by starrdust411



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-05-12
Packaged: 2018-03-30 04:54:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3923668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrdust411/pseuds/starrdust411
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was really no winning or losing at the annual Wilson family Easter egg hunt. All the adults always made sure that each kid came home with at least two eggs and a chocolate bunny by gently guiding and giving helpful hints at egg locations. Even if this Easter there were enough kids running around his mother's back yard to fill up a kindergarten class, Sam had a feeling that the end result would be no different.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Egg Hunt

**Author's Note:**

  * For [latitans](https://archiveofourown.org/users/latitans/gifts).



> isadoro wrote _Marriage and kidfic are my kryptonite for these two. Juggling raising a family in an as normal way as possible - having breakfast and dinner together, PTA meetings, school picknicks, tripping over toys, braiding their daughter's hair - with important meetings and mid-level superhero stuff. (They're parents now, so they don't go all in unless they really need to. According to Steve it's a good way to work out and blow off some steam because damn working in advocacy and diplomacy is frustrating; Sam mostly uses it as an excuse to strap on the wings.) They leave the heavier stuff in the capable hands of Uncle Bucky, who still tends to get twitchy if he goes too long without a mission._

"Look Uncle Sammy! I found one!" 

Sam looked down at little Jody, the gray suit and tie combo that he had worn to church that morning hopelessly grass stained from crawling around in search of plastic eggs, and smiled at the sight of one such egg grasped proudly in the little boy's fingers. "You sure did little man!" Sam said as he peeked into the bright yellow bucket swinging at Jody's side to see the rest of the day's bounty. "How many you got so far?"

Sam helped Jody count all ten of the rainbow colored eggs rolling around in his basket. When they finished Jody was beaming as he gazed up at Sam with twinkling brown eyes. "I'm gonna win," he declared with only the kind of confidence a four year old at an egg hunt could possess.

There was really no winning or losing at the annual Wilson family Easter egg hunt. All the adults always made sure that each kid came home with at least two eggs and a chocolate bunny by gently guiding and giving helpful hints at egg locations. Even if this Easter there were enough kids running around his mother's back yard to fill up a kindergarten class, Sam had a feeling that the end result would be no different. Still Sam laughed and gave Jody a quick hug. "I bet you will," he grinned. "But why don't you take a break from kicking so much butt to help out some of the littler kids find a few eggs?"

Jody considered that for a moment, his eyes scanning the yard to look for any little cousin that might need his egg gathering expertise. "I'll help Cousin Riley," Jody suggested and Sam could feel his own smile widen at the mention of his baby bird.

He looked across the yard towards where Steve was standing with Riley beneath the shade of one of the bigger trees in the yard, laughing and smiling easily with Sam's sister. Riley wasn't even one yet, was still working on learning to stand and not even able to form words in her gum filled mouth, but all the adults had agreed that it would be a great idea for her to participate in the yearly egg hunt with all the other little Wilsons. Riley sat in Steve's arms, the little pink and yellow pale clutched securely in her eager fists as Steve walked leisurely with her around the yard slowly gathering eggs and making sure to name the colors and rattle the plastic bulbs around a few times in order to make the candies inside bobble together before plopping them in the bucket. There were probably only three eggs in the pale, but that was more than enough since Steve wasn't exactly into the idea of overloading Riley with sugar to begin with.

Sam was practically beaming as he gave Jody another quick hug. "You're gonna help your baby cousin find eggs?" Sam laughed as Jody nodded resolutely. "That's a great idea. Go help her get those eggs."

Jody took off like a dart across the yard, nearly knocking over little Paul as he crouched down to pluck an egg that had been tucked away not so secretively beneath one of the coloring book layer kiddie tables, as he scrambled to Steve's side. Jody tugged at Steve's khakis, pulling his attention away from his conversation with Sarah that was likely centered on the massive bulge that was her third trimester belly. "I'm gonna help Cousin Riley find eggs," Jody announced.

Sarah looked torn between chiding Jody about interrupting and chortling at his generous announcement. Steve smiled, chuckling as he shifted Riley in his arms so that she was closer to Jody's line of sight. "Oh did you hear that Riley?" Steve cooed, the sound of his voice drawing Riley's gaze and causing a smile to spread across her chubby features. "Cousin Jody's going to help you hunt for eggs. Isn't that nice?"

Riley grinned toothlessly in approval, her little eyes crinkling at the corners as Steve gave her a light bounce in his arms and pressed a few quick kisses to the apple of her cheek, a gesture that caused the baby to erupt into a giggle fit.

"You better hurry up," Sarah warned teasingly, one hand resting on the top of her stomach as the glass of lemonade began to sweat in her grasp. "The big kids have just about cleared out all the eggs in this yard."

Jody looked nearly horrified at the implication that he may have already failed his baby cousin. He grabbed at Steve's pants and gave another pull, guiding him away. "Come on Uncle Steve! Let's find Cousin Riley more eggs."

They let the kids run around in the yard for a few more minutes before calling the egg hunt to an end when it became obvious that all the plastic treats had been cleared out of every square inch of the front and backyard. They herded the little Wilsons inside where they all gathered into the den to watch movies and count out the eggs. By the end of the afternoon Jody had gathered twenty eggs for himself and a dozen for Riley. Sam rewarded Jody's generosity by cracking open two of Riley's eggs and sneaking the jellybeans into his pile of sweets.

Sam’s mother and a few aunts gathered into the kitchen to finish off dinner while the rest of the adults were lounging in the dining room, assembled around the dinner table that wouldn't be big enough to hold all of them come meal time so, as usual, a buffet style dinner would be required. 

Riley was perched in Steve's lap, as she often was, chewing on the fresh pineapple chunks that Sam's mother had cut just that morning. The juice from the fruit was trailing its way down her chin, dripping onto the bib that they had thankfully remembered to pack in the diaper bag seconds before loading into the car. Sam was grateful that Steve had remembered to bring the bib along; otherwise the white dress with the bright yellow flowers they had purchased just for today would be completely ruined.

"Look at my baby bird going to town on that fruit," Sam cooed as he grinned over at Riley, giving her bare foot a playful shake. "You gonna share some of that with Daddy?"

Riley seemed to consider that for a moment, her little gums slapping together in an almost thoughtful manner as she took a break from sucking the fruit dry. Her mouth was slick with juice, so she took a moment to suck at her plump lower lip before reaching out a tight fisted hand over in Sam's direction in order to offer him the last bite of the pineapple chunk.

"Aw, Riley you're so nice," Steve crooned as he placed a quick kiss to the top of her wispy curls, the bridge of his nose brushing against the clean white bow on her head. Sam laughed as he pretended to take a bite before gently guiding Riley's hand back towards her own mouth. "Riley you're such a nice girl."

"Remember when we used to boil eggs for Easter?" his aunt Sherry asked as she made her way into the room to refill the chip bowl with a freshly opened bag. "Used to boil them up and paint them. Kids don't want real eggs anymore. Just want jelly beans and toys."

"The kids'll paint the eggs," Sarah said lightly as she rubbed circles into her bulging middle. "They just won't eat 'em."

They all chuckled and murmured in agreement at the comment, forgetting for a moment that they had all put in some share of effort into filling those plastic eggs with jelly beans and candy and had laughed at the way eager little faces lit up when they spotted their prize. Sam smiled warmly, but said nothing, because he knew good and well that there were about a dozen Easter baskets waiting at home for Riley to tear into (filled with organic fruit based candy alternative treats at Steve’s insistence, of course) and frankly he couldn't wait until next year when Riley might be able to take part in the egg hunt without as much help from him and Steve.

"I bet back in Steve's day they had to paint rocks," Gideon joked with a smirk and it took everything Sam had in him to keep from jumping across the room to knock his dumb brother in the back of his fat head. "Probably had to dig for them in neck deep snow, huh?"

Sam stiffened a bit in his seat and glanced in Steve’s direction in order to better gauge his reaction. Gideon hadn't meant anything by the comment, being a smartass was just his way of trying to pull Steve into the group, but Sam still silently wished he hadn't said it. Steve wasn't thin skinned by any means. He could joke easily enough about the "good ol' days" among friends, but sometimes it was hard for him to do more than offer a tight lipped smile or an awkward chuckle when it came to people he wasn't close with. 

The slow building tension in him all but evaporated at the sight of Steve's easy grin and friendly chuckle. "Yeah and we were grateful for those rocks," he shot back and Sam rewarded him with a gentle hand placed on top of his knee.

They all had a good chuckle at that, but were suddenly interrupted when Riley squealed in Steve's lap, the kind of high pitched sound that babies only made when they were suddenly no longer the center of attention. 

"Easy pigeon, we still remember you," Sam teased as Steve proceeded to bounce Riley up and down in his lap. The gesture caused her chubby little arms to flap about like wings, the last pulpy remains of the pineapple dripping on the carpet and Steve's no longer freshly pressed khakis. "You wanna share something with the group baby bird?"

Riley merely squealed in response, her plump little features crinkling up as she bounced and flapped along on Steve's knee. Yet it didn't take long for those seemingly happy squeals to turn into frustrated shrieks as her mouth twisted downward and her features started to look too similar to a strawberry. "Okay, I think it's time for a nap," Steve chuckled and in that instant Sam suddenly realized that Riley was way past due for some chill out time. 

"Good luck finding a quiet spot in all this noise," Gideon grumbled with an exaggerated roll of his eyes as the kids continued to run around and shriek with sugar fueled delight, their giggles and chirps loud enough to drown out the sound of Charlie Brown playing on the spotty old television in the den. 

"You can put her down upstairs," Sherry suggested helpfully as she motioned for Steve to follow her. "I'll show you to the guest room. It's nice and quiet there."

"And drafty," Sam's mother called out from the kitchen, her bat like hearing likely allowing her to pick up on the conversation with ease. "Be sure to bring a blanket with you."

They all spared a moment to shake their heads and chuckle at the comment before Sherry lead Steve into the rear of the house and up the stairs. Sam allowed his eyes to linger as he watched Steve's form retreat, already missing the sight of Riley's chubby arms flapping in the air and the way Steve's whole face lit up at the sight of her. He smiled quietly to himself and took a sip from the water bottle that had been slowly warming in his hands.

"It's good to see you again Sam," his sister mentioned suddenly as she carefully maneuvered herself into the chair Steve had just vacated. "You should drop by more often."

"Yeah, you haven't been around as much since you started hanging out with your new friends," Gideon added in his usual pain in the ass manner. 

Sam knew well enough that Gideon liked Steve, that the whole family had gotten over the initial shock and awe phase that came along with bringing home Captain America, but his brother was a chop buster by nature and giving him a few lumps was just Gideon's way. Still Sam couldn't help feeling the guilt that went along with the truth of Gideon's words. Spending his time around super heroes and becoming one of the costumed fold had left a noticeable impact on his social life and even if they didn't go out avenging as much now that Riley was in the picture, he still found his free time all but nonexistent. 

"Don't worry, we're gonna do our best to stop by more often," Sam offered wearily. "We wanna make sure Riley gets to spend as much time as possible around family."

"Well that's good to hear," his mom said with a happy sort of sigh. He turned to see her walking out of the kitchen with a tray filled with cut up sandwiches. Aunt Denise was behind her with another plate filled with individual chip bags and juice pouches. "Why don't you go make up for all the time you missed out on by handing out this food to the babies? Put something in their bellies besides candy."

Sam rolled his eyes, but took the tray, accepting his fate of being mobbed by a gaggle of sugar loaded little Wilsons.

-

Sam waited a good hour before sneaking off upstairs to check on Steve. He stepped lightly as he crept up the steps, remembering exactly which ones had a tendency to squeak when you were trying to sneak around without being noticed and that tricky corner near the top landing that would always trip you up if you weren't paying attention. Sam slowly made his way to the guest bedroom that hadn't always been a guest bedroom. 

The room had belonged to Sam and his brother way back when, but after Sam had enlisted and Gideon had barely managed to get into college by the skin of his teeth, his mother had started making grand plans for the vacated space. Sam still remembered the three weeks after boot camp his mother had spent referring to the room (that was still filled with most of his and Gideon's belongings) as her new "craft room." At some point his mother had realized that she wasn't exactly the crafty type and had decided the room would be a home office. That had gone as far as removing the beds and putting in a broken down old desk that had been purchased at a garage sale before Darlene Wilson remembered that she did her best work sitting cross legged in bed with papers scattered around the sheets. The office phase had lasted a good three years before his mother had come up with the brilliant idea to transform it into a guest bedroom. Sam still remembered hearing Gideon grumble to him over the phone about all the times their mother had nagged him into driving over to help her paint and decorate.

Sam smiled fondly at the memory as he slowly eased the door open. He instantly saw Riley snoozing in the middle of the big white bed, stacks of pillows circling her in a makeshift crib that nearly eclipsed her from sight. The sound of soft baby snores greeted his ears and his smile spread that much wider at the sound. He stepped inside and saw Steve sitting in the corner of the room in the vanilla colored accent chair that Sam’s mother had likely gotten for a bargain somewhere. His eyes were trained on the screen of his cell phone, but Steve's hearing was acute enough that he had likely heard Sam coming the moment he set foot on the steps.

"You streaming the game on there?" Sam whispered in as soft a tone as he could manage while he eased the door shut behind him.

Steve grinned as he lifted his eyes in greeting. "Nah, that'd be a waste of a perfectly good data plan," he joked as Sam tip toed over to his side. "Just texting Bucky. Wants to know when we're heading home."

Sam shook his head as he swallowed the knowing laugh deep in his throat. He knew it would only be a matter of time before Bucky got on the horn and started asking them about when they would be heading back to the nest. "Well you can tell Mr. Barnes that I am not leaving here until I get to tear into some of that honey glazed ham downstairs. Plus, I'm ninety percent sure there's going to be pie."

"Oh, well we can't have you miss out on that," Steve chuckled even as his eyes drifted back down to his phone screen, the mirth drifting from his eyes minutely. "I guess he's just... anxious. I mean, things have been pretty quiet lately and that's good, but..."

Sam nodded, knowing right away where Steve was going. Bucky was doing much better each day, was getting closer to returning to the man he used to be and moving away from the Hydra controlled puppet from just a few years ago. Yet there were still instincts and urges that Barnes could only work through on a mission, with a task and a goal for him to complete, which meant that the more aggressive aspects of saving the world often fell on his shoulders now that Sam and Steve were occupied with building a family. It wasn't really the way either of them wanted things to be, but it was a solution that worked most of the times except when Bucky was at home with nothing to focus himself on. That often led to dark moods and emotional regression if left unchecked for too long.

Sam considered the situation. He felt guilty at the idea of cutting short on another family gathering after missing so many in the past, but he knew that being available for Bucky was important to Steve. "Well, I could always talk my mom into cutting us a slice of that pie a little early," Sam reasoned. "I mean, she always tries to push most of the leftovers off on us anyway."

Steve gave him a fond grin. "I don't know how there could be much in the way of leftovers since there's almost eighty people here."

"Trust me Rogers, there are always leftovers." Sam looked over at Riley, still sound asleep in the nest of pillows that Steve had assembled for her, and felt his lips curl easily into a smile at the sight of her. "Hey, you want me to trade off with you? Maybe give you some time to wrestle around with the kids?"

A faint tinge of pink spread across Steve's cheeks at the comment. The little Wilsons all adored Steve, but it was only natural given that he was a real life super hero that had somehow managed to find his way into their family. The first few times Sam had brought Steve home the kids had treated him like their own personal action figure, crawling all over him and bombarding Steve with a hundred questions per second. Steve had taken it like a champ of course, but now the initial shock had worn off and the kids looked at Steve like just another uncle, although the occasional group wrestling match was to be expected.

"No, I'm good," Steve assured him. "I like watching her sleep."

Sam frowned, twisting his mouth into an exaggerated grimace at Steve's words. "Don't be that guy, Steve."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with thinking my baby's adorable," Steve countered with feigned defense. "Besides, you're the one who lets her sleep on your belly."

"That's just good parenting," he chuckled. "That way, I know exactly where she is when we both wake up from our nap."

"Okay, but just remember when she starts sleeping in her own bed, it won't be big enough to hold the both of you."

-

It was just past seven in the evening when they left, the sun having just begun to set and dinner having just been carved and served. They managed to escape with only a small bit of grief and three hefty slices of his mom's lemon pie to go with the plate of leftovers that was pushed off on them. Sam couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt as they drove home, but it melted away when he saw the way Steve's face lit up upon arriving home to find Bucky there waiting for them.

Steve didn't bother to wait until they stepped inside to hand little Riley over, because it was easy to see that Barnes was eager to touch and cuddle with Riley the way Sam and Steve often were whenever a long stretch of time had passed. He cradled her in his arms like the gesture was second nature to him, pressing her head gently against his chest and touching the tip of his nose to the crown of her head. Riley went without a fuss, because Bucky was as good with her as could be and she greeted his touch with a few soft grunts and coos. 

"She ate too much sugar," Barnes deduced instantly, a disapproving frown settling on his features.

"I knew it!" Steve declared as he helped Sam to unload the car. He pinned Sam with a playful frown, wagging his finger accusingly in his direction. "You were sneaking her jelly beanies while I wasn't looking!"

"She's got like two teeth Steve! How's she gonna eat a jelly bean?" Sam countered as he closed the door with his hip. "Now _maybe_ I _might’ve_ let her nibble on some chocolate eggs while you were in the bathroom..."

"You sneak," Steve threw back, coming around to Sam's side of the car just to nudge him playfully in the side. "If she's up all night, then it's your problem."

Sam said nothing to that, because he wasn't the least bit worried about putting Riley down for the night with Bucky around. Barnes was the master at putting fussy babies to bed, more effective than human Nyquil and sure enough after, after less than half an hour in his embrace, Riley was dozing softly in his arms, her little cheek pillowed comfortably against his metal shoulder and lashes fluttering in the depth of sleep.

Any other time they would have gathered Riley up and put her straight to bed, but they held off for the time being since Bucky seemed content to just hold her against his side and stroke soothing circles against her back as Sam and Steve worked to tidy up the house and put away some of the gifts from the day. 

"Gee, I wonder which one is Stark's basket," Sam muttered sarcastically as he picked through the Easter basket decorated with red and gold ribbons and exploding with Iron Man merchandise. "He even put in the latest Stark-pad."

"At least he tried," Steve sighed wearily as he picked out all the sweets that had been loaded into Clint's basket. Sam also spotted a plastic bow and a set of arrows with little suction cups on the end. It would probably be a few more years before Riley could even play with that.

Sam shrugged and put the rest of the baskets aside. The buckets and baskets they would probably toss or reuse, while the unwanted candy could be given away later on if Sam didn’t get to them first. Most of the actual gifts had passed their approval which pleased Sam. They would probably dull out the toys gradually since Riley had a tendency to get bored with things quickly and they now had at least two months' worth of new things to occupy her.

He turned to Bucky and wasn't surprised to see him still sitting silently on the couch cradling Riley's prone body in his arms. "You gonna be spending the night, Barnes?" Sam asked. There was a spare room with a bed that wasn't so much a guest room as it was Bucky's room. Yet Sam knew better than to just assume Bucky was staying. Being asked over made him feel better, less intrusive, because they were still working on helping Barnes to understand that he was already part of the family.

Bucky looked to Steve, which he often did when making choices that should have been easy, but still weren't. Steve answered him with a soft, encouraging smile the way he often did. "Sure," Bucky said at last. "I'll stay."

-

"She's going to be walking in no time," Steve mumbled into his pillow and Sam smiled up at the ceiling when he felt Steve shift and pull at the blankets. 

Overhead the fan's blades were whirling in a steady pace, the sound of the chain clanking against the light bulb in a way that was oddly soothing in its rhythmic beat. He could feel sleep clawing at him, his eyes already too heavy to push open and the pillow cradling the back of his head pleasantly. It was just like Steve to pick that exact moment to chat. Not that Sam could really find it in himself to mind.

"Yeah," he said lazily, not bothering to open his eyes or turn his head in response. "Getting better at standing on her own and she's a total champ at crawling..."

"She's the best at crawling," Steve said with no shortage of pride. "Could crawl a mile in the blink of an eye."

"And next Easter she'll be out there with the big kids," Sam mused. "Clearing all the eggs in the yard before anyone can grab their buckets."

"We'll have to bring two sets of clothes," Steve reasoned softly. "Just in case the good pair gets muddied hunting for eggs."

"Muddy clothes are just another sign of a good hunter."

Steve chuckled gently in response, the sound of sheets rustling a clear sign of him shaking his head. The bed squeaked as Steve shifted closer, the warmth of his body pressing against Sam's side until he felt good and toasty. "When are we gonna gather more eggs?" Steve asked, sly and playful as he nudged Sam gently in the side. "We have a whole nest to fill."

Sam snorted and shook with laughter as he scrubbed at his face with the palm of his hand. "Man our first egg is barely a chick!" he countered wearily. "Don't you wanna wait until she's lost some of her baby fuzz?"

"Hey, I'm not getting any younger," Steve teased. "We gotta gather as many stray eggs as we can while I've still got some time on my side."

"Yeah, well knowing you, you'll probably want at least a dozen," Sam scoffed.

Steve gave an exaggerated hum as he pretended to consider the situation from all angles. "A baker's dozen would be nice, actually," he said and Sam could hear the grin in his voice. "But I'll settle for half."

"Jesus Christ!"

"Hey, language," Steve teased with a playful swat to his side. "It's still Easter Sunday for another two hours."

"So my language is appropriate for the next two hours," Sam threw back smugly and was rewarded with another nudge to the side. Sam chuckled and nudged back with the tip of his toe against the side of Steve's leg and if he weren't so worn out it would have been easy for the whole thing to escalate into a childish pillow fight. Yet instead they just chuckled and settled in for sleep. "Okay, we'll make a deal: not talk about eggs until this one's at least in kindergarten."

"Make it pre-school and you've got a deal."

"Deal."


End file.
